Chapter 71: Pt.2

"I…"

"I still have our conversation history saved on my phone. Are you still trying to lie?"

Xu Chuanchuan's emotions became increasingly excited the more she spoke. Her voice also became sharper and sharper. In an attempt to assuage Xu Chuanchuan, Murong Shi said, "It's not a big deal. You should calm down first."

Xu Chuanchuan was dumbfounded. Immediately, she exploded into an even bigger rage and bellowed, "You used a pseudonym to act in front of me and lie to me. You've tricked me for so long, and you're saying this isn't a big deal?!"

Murong Shi choked. After a slight pause, she said, "Listen to my explanation first."

"What is there to explain? Look at the conversations you've had with me on Weibo and QQ. Don't tell me you weren't deliberately messing with me?"

"I… I just thought you were fun to mess with at the start. There's no other meaning to my words."

Xu Chuanchuan couldn't help herself from sneering. "Is messing with others fun? Don't you think you've gone too far?"

"I'm sorry, it was my mistake. Please forgive me."

"..."

Knock, knock, knock—

Knocking sounds suddenly came from the door behind, giving Xu Chuanchuan a scare.

Immediately afterward, Murong Mingshu's voice came through the door, "What's with the noise? What are you two doing inside?"

Xu Chuanchuan quickly realized her mistake. Because of her anger, she had momentarily forgotten that she was in someone else's house. So, she quickly settled her emotions, turned around, and opened the door.

When Xu Chuanchuan saw Murong Mingshu's sickly face, she couldn't help but feel guilty. Offering a hand to support the elderly woman, Xu Chuanchuan asked, "Did we interrupt your rest?"

"That's not the case. I was planning to head downstairs, but I suddenly heard a lot of noise coming from here. I thought you two were arguing."

Murong Shi walked out of the room and calmly said, "We're not arguing."

Xu Chuanchuan: "..." Indeed, they weren't arguing. After all, she was the only one losing her mind.

Murong Shi sent a worried glance at Xu Chuanchuan. However, Xu Chuanchuan deliberately looked away.

"..." Now wasn't the time to be at odds with each other, so Murong Shi asked her mother in a soft voice, "Dinner isn't ready yet. Why don't you go lie down first?"

However, Murong Mingshu waved her hand and said, "I've been lying down the entire day now. My back can't take any more of it, so I'm going down for a walk."

Subsequently, Murong Shi and Xu Chuanchuan helped Murong Mingshu downstairs.

Then, after adjusting her emotions, Xu Chuanchuan said, "Auntie, since you're fine already, I'll take my leave now."

Looking at XuChuanchuan in surprise, Murong Shi said, "Aunt Lian has already prepared dinner."

"That's right. Since you're already here, leave after you've eaten," Murong Mingshu said.

"I'm not hungry," Xu Chuanchuan said, shrugging. While trying her best to avoid making her smile look stiff, she continued, "I still have matters to deal with later, so I need to head back before it gets dark. Auntie, rest properly. I'm leaving now."

"Ah? You're leaving?" Murong Mingshu couldn't react in time.

"Bye-bye." Xu Chuanchuan waved her hand. "Help me say goodbye to Aunt Lian. Also, no need to send me off."

Although Xu Chuanchuan had spoken as such, Murong Shi still followed her lover out the door. Then, she quickly held onto Xu Chuanchuan's hand and said, "Didn't I apologize already? How about leaving after dinner? I'll send you back after the meal."

"No need. I can go back myself," Xu Chuanchuan said, shaking off Murong Shi's hand with a straight face.

"You'll get carsick easily with an empty stomach," Murong Shi said in a softer tone.

"Even if I do get carsick, it is none of your business," Xu Chuanchuan said, glaring at Murong Shi.

"..." Revealing a look of helplessness, Murong Shi asked, "What do I need to do for you to forgive me?"

Xu Chuanchuan was unable to think straight right now because of her emotions. She didn't even understand why she was so angry. So, she simply replied, "I don't want to talk to you today."

Murong Shi: "..."

As if venting her emotions, Xu Chuanchuan pushed the parcel into Murong Shi's hands and walked to the elevator in a huff.

Murong Shi didn't hold onto the parcel and simply let it fall to the ground. Without sparing the parcel even a glance, she broke into a sprint to chase after Xu Chuanchuan.

However, before Murong Shi could get anywhere, she suddenly heard Murong Mingshu calling her from inside the house, "Little Shi—"

Murong Shi faltered momentarily.

In this brief moment, Xu Chuanchuan had rushed into the elevator and closed the doors.

The instant Xu Chuanchuan left the elevator downstairs, her phone started ringing. When she saw that it was Murong Shi calling her, she rejected the call without hesitation.

This should be the first time they had come into conflict after getting together, and Xu Chuanchuan had mixed feelings about this situation. She knew that Murong Shi wouldn't be chasing after her. After all, Murong Mingshu had just fainted today, so it was only natural for Murong Shi to stay behind and take care of her mother.

As Xu Chuanchuan wasn't answering her calls, Murong Shi switched to sending messages through WeChat. She sent message after message, every one of them filled with words of apology and explanation. However, Xu Chuanchuan did not respond to even one of these messages.

Several minutes later, Xu Chuanchuan had already gotten into a taxi. However, Murong Shi was still messaging her, and this situation caused Xu Chuanchuan's heart to waver.

Murong Shi was already vigorously admitting her mistake. She was even speaking in a humble and servile tone. For a moment, Xu Chuanchuan couldn't help but reflect on herself as she looked at her phone. Am I going too far?

Xu Chuanchuan had very nearly forgiven Murong Shi. However, when she read through her conversations with "Passerby Shi" on Weibo and QQ, anger welled up within her once more.

Does she have nothing better to do?! She knew who I was, yet she still chose to delude me with a pseudonym!

She even said I was an insincere person before! Who exactly is the insincere one here?!

I even told her about my writing gig, yet she continued pretending in front of me! She even had me teach her how to write comments and give donations!

She must've been having the laugh of her life back then, right?

How infuriating.

If I forgive her just like that, wouldn't that be too good of a deal for her?

After mentally struggling for a while, Xu Chuanchuan closed her WeChat app and switched to QQ. Then, she clicked on Ange's avatar and started typing away, her fingers trembling from anger as she did so.

Xu Chuanchuan: "That bastard Murong is Passerby Shi!"

Ange: "What???"

Xu Chuanchuan had trouble typing because of her anger, so it took her quite some time to explain the entire situation to Ange.

Ange: "Heavens! Isn't Murong a little too good at acting?"

Xu Chuanchuan: "So, don't you think I should be angry at her?!"

Ange: "How do you think I'm supposed to answer? I'm not interfering in a lover's spat. [Shrug]"

Now that even "life mentor" Ange refused to help her, Xu Chuanchuan couldn't help but be at a loss on what to do.

Xu Chuanchuan naturally wouldn't doubt Murong Shi's affection toward her. However, after being played like a fool for such a long time, she absolutely refused to forgive Murong Shi easily. Hence, a cold war ensued between them.

—"Are you writing?"

—"Have you eaten?"

—"Are you still mad?"

—"I'll have Aunt Lian make your favorite dishes and send them to you tomorrow, okay?"

—"Are you asleep?"

…

Ever since leaving the Murong household, Xu Chuanchuan's phone had never stopped ringing and buzzing. Finally, after getting fed up with the noise, she simply turned off her phone's sound and vibration.

Later in the night, Ange invited Xu Chuanchuan to a joint writing session. However, after staring at the blank document for some time and failing to calm her emotions, Xu Chuanchuan decided to give up on writing for today.

After turning off her computer, Xu Chuanchuan laid down on her soft bed. However, when her nose caught a whiff of Murong Shi's familiar perfume, Xu Chuanchuan grew irritated again.

Xu Chuanchuan had never gotten into a fight with anyone before. Needless to say, she had also never waged a cold war with anyone before. Now, she couldn't help but start regretting her actions.

If Xu Chuanchuan were honest, Murong Shi hadn't done anything heinous. However, Xu Chuanchuan also felt like she was a child throwing a tantrum for ignoring Murong Shi until now.

"I'm going to take a shower." —This was the last message Murong Shi sent five minutes ago.

Although her phone had finally stopped ringing, Xu Chuanchuan's heart felt empty. Xu Chuanchuan found that she was too soft-hearted. Even though Murong Shi was in the wrong, she had ended up blaming herself for being too hypocritical instead. However, Xu Chuanchuan also couldn't bring herself to reconcile with Murong Shi.

With no one else sleeping beside her tonight, Xu Chuanchuan felt as if something was missing. Because of this, she had difficulty falling asleep, her eyes staying open as she waited for daylight to arrive.

However, when light finally came in through the window, Xu Chuanchuan ended up succumbing to her exhaustion and falling asleep instead. Amidst her drowsy state, she suddenly had a feeling that someone was quietly observing her.

Xu Chuanchuan instantly woke up when this thought surfaced in her mind. Then, when she opened her eyes and saw that someone was indeed crouching by the bed, she couldn't help but be a little stunned.

"Did I wake you?" Murong Shi currently wore a white shirt, and her long hair spread across her shoulders. She looked incredibly gentle, and even her voice seemed to be full of affection.

Xu Chuanchuan felt her heart being moved when she saw Murong Shi's face. Then, she opened her mouth to speak, only to let out a long yawn instead. "..."

Murong Shi helped move aside the hair covering Xu Chuanchuan's eyes. Then, she said, "It's still early. Continue sleeping if you want to."

Xu Chuanchuan was indeed exhausted, and her mind was a cluttered mess. Subconsciously, she held onto Murong Shi's hand and rubbed her face against it.

Murong Shi smiled at this scene. "Are you finally willing to forgive me?"

Murong Shi's words instantly brought back Xu Chuanchuan's memories. When Xu Chuanchuan thought back to the unhappy situation yesterday, she threw Murong Shi's hand away, harrumphed, and said, "Not a chance!"

Murong Shi sighed.

Meanwhile, now that her drowsiness had disappeared, Xu Chuanchuan lazily sat up. She also swatted away Murong Shi's hands that tried to embrace her. Then, she looked down and saw a bunch of strange items on the ground. "What are these?"

Xu Chuanchuan's droopy eyes and hoarse voice made her seem like she was flirting. Murong Shi wanted nothing more than to kiss Xu Chuanchuan right now, but she also worried she would be met with a rebuff like yesterday. So, she eventually held back and pointed at the items on the ground, saying, "A washboard, a durian, and a malfunctioning keyboard."

Xu Chuanchuan was dumbfounded. "What did you bring these things here for?"

"Pick one."

Still not fully awake, Xu Chuanchuan rubbed her eyes and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Which one do you want me to kneel on?"

"..."